This specification relates to portable conveyances, and in particular to folding portable conveyances.
Portable conveyances are very popular forms of transportation. Initially such conveyances were recreational in nature. However, with the advent of environmental awareness and a concomitant acceptance of alternative forms of transportation, many people now use portable conveyances for portions of their commutes to and from their working locations. Portable conveyances are especially popular for “first and last” mile commuting. For example, a person may use a portable conveyance to travel from her home to a metro rail station, and then collapse the portable conveyance into a storage and towing configuration that allows the user to more easily transport the conveyance onto the rail car. The person may thereafter use the portable conveyance to travel from her destination rail station to her place of work. Finally, while at work, the person may store the conveyance in the collapsed configuration in her office during the work day.
Existing portable conveyances still have several drawbacks, however. For example, many of the devices are heavy and tow on one wheel, and the user must “balance” the conveyance while towing. Thus, when a user tows the conveyance for a long distance, the user may become fatigued. Alternatively, some portable conveyances have two rear drive wheels that also serve as tow wheels. This configuration, however, has a larger rear-wheel footprint than for single rear-wheel portable conveyances, which, in turn, requires more storage space.
Additional, the user typically must lean the conveyance against a resting surface, such as a wall, when the conveyance is stored. As the conveyance is typically soiled from dirt, rain, etc., and is also heavy, leaning the conveyance against a wall will eventually soil the wall and damage the surface of the wall.